Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Mike Holmes feels “terrible” over lost subscription money after magazine stops printing [TheStar.com]
- Russell Smith memoir, Blindsided, launches nonfiction ebook series from Canadian Writers Group [Canadian Writers Group]
- Long-form journalism venture launched with ebook by writer Russell Smith [Canadian Magazines blog]
- Aggregation, real reporters and local ads: CBC tests online-only news in Hamilton [J-Source] (via @arikligeti)
- What Canadians who sell Kindle e-books need to know [Literacy, Languages and Leadership] (via @BonnieZink)
- Full list of 2011 CAJ Awards finalists announced [Canadian Association of Journalists]
- Does freedom of the press come at a higher price for student journalists? [J-Source] (via @q_e_d)
- Federal government delivers a punishing cut to CBC [Canadian Media Guild] (via @karenatcmg)
- User-generated content ‘gold’ for storytelling, says panelist [Design Edge Canada]
- Is health and science writing for you? [PWAC’s NetWords] (via @jaclynlaw)
From the U.S. and beyond:
- David Carr: Hashtag Activism, and Its Limits [NYTimes.com] (via @romenesko)
- Editor of Daily Mail’s website defends attribution practices in face of growing criticism [Poynter]
- Don’t build a paywall, create a velvet rope instead [GigaOm] (via @NiemanLab)
- 4 types of journalists: How they tick and what we can learn from them [Poynter]
- I’m there, you’re not, let me tell you about it: A brief essay on the origins of authority in journalism [Jay Rosen’s PressThink]
- Court throws out bloggers’ suit against HuffPo [Street Fight Mag]
From Story Board last week:
- Canadian Writers Group launches ebook venture with Russell Smith’s Blindsided: This week, CWG launched a series of non-fiction ebooks with novelist and Globe columnist Russell Smith’s Blindsided, a story of about 5,500 words that details the writer’s struggle with a severe eye condition that threatens both his lifestyle and his ability to work at an already tumultuous time in his life. The $1.99 ebook, available in Kobo’s “Short Reads” section, is a slightly longer version of a story published in the April issue of Toronto Life. CWG negotiated with the magazine so Smith could keep digital rights to the piece.
- Tune in: Radio freelancing tips from the Born Freelancer: Today’s working freelancers need to have as many skill sets as they can comfortably manage in order to pursue their storytelling on as many platforms as possible. Radio is in many ways the language-based storyteller’s most ideal mass medium. Like print, it can offer great focus on important ideas. Unlike television there are no visuals to dominate the viewer’s senses. But the additional nuances of the human voice can lend texture and unparalleled meaning to any news report, interview or work of fiction. So how does the novice break into radio freelancing? And is it even possible to make a living as a freelancer in it?
Spot a story you think we should include in next week’s Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca.